Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum appeared on the popular daily morning radio program Sports Chat heard worldwide thru www.pbs.gov.ph everyday from 8:15-9:00am, Manila time. The Top Rank CEO spoke in detail about future plans for superstar Manny Pacquiao, including the possibility of a potential future bout with Oscar De La Hoya.
How did Joan Guzman?s win over Humberto Soto affect his chances of getting a fight against Manny Pacquiao next March?
It won?t affect it at all because he really cannot draw very well if he gets to fight Manny. Manny will choose between two opponents. One, Juan Manuel Marquez or two for the lightweight championship of the WBC against David Diaz. I?ll be discussing all of these with Manny on Thursday in Las Vegas. He?s coming over to Las Vegas on Thursday and I will be meeting with them.
Obviously you are not considering Guzman as an opponent for Manny?
Absolutely. I mean, you know, it would be ludicrous because his last fight wasn?t a good performance but to give him his due he hasn?t fought in a year and Soto looked very very bad. So were talking about two credible opponents, Marquez or Diaz.
What people know is that Marquez has the inside track as Pacquiao?s opponent because of a lot of factors. Is that the real situation?
No, I mean unless you talk to Manny yourself, I don?t know. I?m going to present both deals to Manny and I?ll chose the best opponent, the best deal and what he wants to do. Manny wants to fight three times next year. Once in March, once in July and once in September. So if Manny is thinking about going up in weight, winning the lightweight title, then he will fight Diaz. And then in July he can fight Marquez for the lightweight championship. If all goes well, there?s been a lot of talk over here about Manny fighting (Oscar) De La Hoya.
Regarding that De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight, is it really true that you are considering that fight and is it doable at least for next year?
Well, I didn?t raise the issue. I?m not the genius that came up with the idea. It was Larry Merchant being the television commentator for HBO and a lot of the media loved the idea and when I talked to Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy he liked the idea. I haven?t pursued it at all I don?t even talked to Manny about that. But it?s there and people are talking about it.
It will absolutely attract interest among fight fans, don?t you think it will be a mismatch of sorts?
Well, you know, I come from an era where fighters fought above the weight all the time. Where great fighters like Ray Robinson went up and fought the light heavyweight champion. Where middleweights fought heavyweights. We?ve seen Roy Jones with (John) Ruiz. Henry Armstrong was the lightweight champion, middleweight champion. So, you know, this is nothing new. I mean, Manny Pacquiao brings a lot to the table against Oscar. He has the speed, a good punch, he takes a good punch. He may be outsized by De La Hoya but remember when he fought Barrera he went into the ring at 144 lbs. So it is not out of the question. Certainly not.
From what we know you have to co-promote Pacquiao with Golden Boy Promotions which came about after your mediation process a few months ago. What?s is your specific deal with Golden Boy in choosing Pacquiao?s foe?
We have the complete say on who Manny fights. That decision is made by Manny Pacquiao and myself. Once the decision is made, then if it?s a Golden Boy fighter, Golden Boy is part of the co-promotion. If it?s not a Golden Boy fighter, they are not part of the promotion but they share part of the promotion?s profit. So that if it was a Marquez fight, they would co-promote the fight with Top Rank. If it?s a David Diaz fight, they would not co-promote the fight with Top Rank but they will share in the profit.
Ok so it?s only you and Manny who decide on Manny?s opponent, is that accurate?
That is 100%
Is it really imperative for Manny to give Marquez a rematch?
No, it is not imperative for Manny to do it. But, again, Manny is serious about fighting three times next year. Then he can fight David Diaz and win the WBC lightweight championship, very prestigious. And then give Marquez a rematch when Manny is the champion. Manny deserves to go into the ring as the champion in fighting Marquez. And since Manny is having trouble making the 130lb limit this is the perfect opportunity to fight in the lightweight and win another championship.
How about Juan Diaz, the WBA/IBF/WBO champion, is he still in the equation for the March 15 fight?
Not for the March 15 fight. He has a promotional contract with Don King. That contract ends end of March. So if a fight was to be made with Juan Diaz, that would be a great fight. Everybody agrees that fight should be made after Juan Diaz has no ties with Don King. To bring in Don King at this stage doesn?t help the situation, particularly since the contract between Don King and Juan Diaz is expiring in March. But that would be a huge fight. A unification bout, with three belts, it would be absolutely a monster fight.
How will these plans of yours help in making people recognize the real champions from bogus ones?
The people know who the champions are. And Manny Pacquiao is one of the big, major marquee fighters and Juan Diaz is considered to be probably the top lightweight around with David Diaz being second. So to take the first step and fight David Diaz, and then go on and fight Juan Diaz next, then you are building interest, and the Juan Diaz fight would be absolutely huge. But the marquee fighter, the guy bringing the fans would still be Manny Pacquiao in both cases.
On Erik Morales, he?s got huge following here in the Philippines. Last time we heard he wanted to talk to you and convince you to give him a rematch with David Diaz. What?s the latest on this?
Yes he did. But I remember being in the ring after he fought David Diaz. It was a good fight and he said to me win or lose this is my last fight. But every time I got hit, my head starts to rattle. And knowing that, it would be absolutely criminal of me to do anything to put Erik Morales back in the ring. I told him he had a great career, he shouldn?t risk any damage and he has a long life ahead of him so hang up the gloves. He was not happy but he?s not gonna fight under my banner. I love him too much.
How about your plans for Filipino fighters. Some of our boxers are promoted by Top Rank.
We have a lot of shows, I love this (Bernabe) Concepcion kid, a terrific terrific fighter. We have a whole group of them and that?s one of the things I will be discussing with Manny on Thursday.
* * * The writer Dennis Principe conducted the interview during his daily morning radio program Sports Chat heard worldwide thru www.pbs.gov.ph everyday from 8:15-9:00am, Manila time.
